Applications closed, thanks for all the artists who applied!
Unfortunately, we had a NoGo on 17/11/2013 due to higher budget priorities.
We'll take action to get a budget and vote again on it on the February 2014 meeting.
If it's still delayed, it'll be again on the agenda of the September 2014 meeting.
More explanation follow on trailing post.

Hi all,

We're a French Association, that writes a Sci-Fi universe called Hoshikaze 2250, in a collective and cross-media way. We have already written a considerable background, through 50 short stories from 10 authors, a Conventions-tested RPG and a prototype Elite-like videogame. One of our authors is currently writing our first novel in this universe. We're currently only a collective of enlightened amateurs, but have plans and hopes of going professional in the next few years. We would like to establish ourselves as a cooperative company, probably under the French Consumers' Cooperative legal model, to ensure sustainability for our creative project.

This universe comprises 9 sentient species so far, including Humans, each with a unique twist and a complex background. No species is dominant or destitute, but they share thousands of star systems and hundreds of colonized planets. The story so far is one of epic Space-Opera laced with stories of understanding and cooperation between very different beings.

Here's a picture of the 6 main species, plus the extinct Purgatorians (and, yes, the Human has elven ears, such prosthetics being very fashionable ^-^) :

For years, we have dreamt of making figures of our characters... We would like to publish a series of figurines based on these species, as well as some starships figures, of which we have so far around 25 unique designs. And Shapeways could well be the sandbox in which we could test how this fares...

The first set, being figurines, would be based on 54mm for Humans, as this scale seems to be optimal for a balance between details and price, and well-suited for future developments. Of course, some variations will occur between the different species : from 40-45mm for the small pseudo-insectoïd K'Rinns to around 70-75mm for the feline-centaur-like Rithai. We would like to begin with Spacers, that is, a set of figurines of all 6 main species (the other 3 being either extinct or uncommon), all in spacers outfits made from the same fabric, that could form a multi-species spaceship crew. 4 will be easy : the Humans, K'Rinns and Rithai already described before, and the reptilo-avian Sshaads. For the Shapeshifters, we'll have to choose between their natural medusa-on-tentacles-like shape, or an assumed shape of another species, but with twists making it obvious that this is NOT a native of that species... The last one is the Pupeteers, who live as symbiots on gengineered animals, so the figure will have to show a particular Bearer animal, with enough details to clearly see the Pupeteer on it. For now, we have extensive 2D drawings on all species, by various illustrators from the project, but no 3D model at all.

Starships will seem more simple after that, except that they were created using DoGA, a "3D for Dummies" software working as a parts assembler rather than a modeller. So, even if there is actually a 3D model exportable in 3DS format, they are unusable as is, because they are made of parts, which are only juxtaposed, but not really merged. So, the 3D modelling will have to be redone using the existing model as a mere blueprint. We have ships ranging from fighter to cruiser size, most of them being various cargo ships, with a few military ships. Also, most cargo ships are modular, will hulls and/or containers that fit onto a main hull holding all fixed components. I don't know if this would make it difficult to print, as for the details and structural strength needed.

We envision to first test with Shapeways how modelling such figurines is possible. The 3D model themselves could then be used by the Hoshikaze team to make illustrations, or by the videogame, or for other uses as we see fit, so we hope to fully integrate the modeller into the team. We would like to have it posted on such sites as Renderosity, to enable artists to make 3D art in the Hoshikaze 2250 universe. As for figurines, we have contacts with crafters in France, so after testing with 3D printing, we could move on to miniature figures, hence the choice of 54mm as a scale...A

Hello,
My name is James Liang, from Sharpen 3D. Sharpen 3D is a 3D printing design firm. We specialize in designing 3D products to be printed in 3D printers.
We have extensive experience in designing figures and space ships. We offer fast and reliable design that is 100% printable. Many of our clients, were able to print successfully at Shapeways with our design.
We would love the opportunity to work with you on this project.
Please contact me at james.liang@sharpen3d.com

Thanks for all your answers, so far I got 1 reply in the thread, and 5 PMs ^-^

I'll soon be able to give you more details about what we're exactly looking for. For now I apologize, but I have no time just now for hanging on in the forum, having some emergencies IRL ^-^ (got a young dog to educate, and that claims time...)

The idea so far is to make the first 4 figures from chara-designs drawn by one of our illustrators. He represented Human, Rith, K'Rinn and Sshaad people working for the same company, with garments and tools having the same look, just adapted to different anatomies. These 4 pictures will be your base, along with numerous other pictures made by all our illustrators and featured on our website. Don't worry about our illustrators' different styles, we already have good descriptions of what is essential for each species and besides that, what is left to personal style.

For the figurine, we just demand a realistic and clear style, maybe with a manga/comics influence, with not too much details. The bottom line is, that each species' main features be clearly visible, along with the common look'n'feel of their belonging to the same team.

To review every application, we'll need an estimated quote for one figure. We may select one artist for all 4 figures or multiple artists for the different figures, and we have a bias for freelances over companies, given our own structure and long-term goals.

I'll post the 4 base images during the next days (have to prepare them for posting), and we'll have to request that applications be posted in reply to this thread, so that they can be linked to from our own forums and votes can be organized. The final decision will be made at our monthly meeting, on 16/11/2013, and could be postponed if no decision is reached, until the next meeting on 14/12/2013. Then, a decision will be made for each figurine, of a Go/NoGo and if Go, a selected artist.

Do you find these conditions OK or do you have any remark ? Any comment or remark is welcome !

I'm interested in joining your team. I have an extensive modeling background and I specialize in characters and have a passion for 3D printing. You can see some of my work at http://fallencomrade2008.deviantart.com/gallery. And more of my 3D print designs that have yet to be printed are uploaded to shapeways right now if you want to peek at those too. I have a Bachelors of Fine Art in Media Arts and Animation, during my time earning that degree I worked on multiple video games and animations. It gave me a wide skill set that I believe fits in perfectly with your project.

I generally quote my work as a freelancer at $25 an hour. A character generally takes 4 hours for me to model for 3D printing. If you want to skimp on a few details for the sake of time I could get them done faster but I don't recommend rushing a work of art. If you think I'm right for the job and want me to do the full set of characters and ships I think we could cut a bit of a bulk deal, returning customers always get a "good business discount" because no one likes chasing commissions all day.

I'm looking forward to talking with you, if you would like to email me instead of talking here on shapeways my address is DaltonBissell@live.com.

Sincerely,
-Dalton Bissell

Send an email to DaltonBissell@live.com for a free quote on any custom orders.

@Dalton : in fact, your link is broken, due to the dot at the end being taken in the link itself, while it shouldn't. But I managed to see your gallery, which is indeed quite interesting. Also, would you like to keep your email address here for all robots to steal, or would you rather edit it out ? I've got it already in the PM. I'm OK for not rushing, we want good enough models to be inspirational for writers and illustrators, and in the future, we will surely build more models and transform those we'll already have for other uses, like posable models or videogame models. These are the first stones on which we'll begin building... Thanks also for detailed quoting, it helps at figuring orders of magnitude !

@James : I would like to know more of your company, how many people in it and will it be you who manage this from beginning to end, and of course a quote for the project. I stated that we'd prefer to hire freelancers rather than companies, but are not opposed to small companies run by passionate individuals !

@all : as for the ships, for now we'll not have the funds to do them at the same time, but they'll probably come in 2014. I'll also, sooner than that, post a picture of some ships.

Another detail : submissions are open until next week-end, Saturday 09/11/2013. I'll regroup everything posted on the first post, using the same format, by that date and write a great "submission closed" panel on it...

Off-topic : apart from being 1 week from the meeting when we'll discuss the whole question, thus allowing some time to vote, it's easy to remember for me, being the day of the Motörhead venue in Paris ^-^

Hi! My name is Clint and I'm a professional 3d modeler. Ive done work for many table top games and currently work for the company that makes Hero Clix. Your character designs are awesome and very creative. I would be interested in your project and hearing more about it.

You can see my work at www.maximusin3d.carbonmade.com and you can contact me directly at maximusin3d@gmail.com

@Clint : thanks for your submission ! My chara designs are indeed not mine, but they are from a painter who worked with the association ^-^

What particular question do you have ? I've already posted some details about what we envision for that miniatures. Is it enough or do you need more ? Same question to all applicants, by the way ^-^

Now, we've begun discussing the topic on our forum. I'll keep you informed about the discussions' outcome. Globally, there may be the following outcomes :
- Not enough people is interested to get a majority and sadly, it's a global NoGo, I hope not that outcome, of course !
- For each figure, we'll hold a separate vote, so that only some figurines will get a Go and others will be NoGo,
- This also means there may be Go for all, but with a different artist for each miniatures in the extreme case,
- Or in the opposite extreme case, if one applicant gains all 4 votes, he may be given all 4 figurines to make.

For now, we're discussing how the miniatures fit in our global strategy for 2014 and beyond. That's where some are for having the figurines in 2014 and other opposed to getting them so soon. We're currently sorting out all opinions and getting the attention of some members who didn't initially react. So in a week I'll have a clearer view to give you.

Is it an issue for you to publicly display your rates on the thread ? I could well understand that, but for now I don't know how to manage it. They will have to be displayed publicly on the Hoshikaze 2250 forum to allow for informed polls. Or we could restrict the polls to only the core Hoshikaze team and not all forum members. So what do you think about that ? So far, only Dalton posted his rates, and if that may be a blocking point for some applicants, we may as well discuss it as soon as possible...

This whole thing is a little confusing to me. Why would fans vote on the artist, rather than the company just picking the best artist for the job?

I think it's a little demeaning to the artists to ask them to post their personal rates on some random forum, and even moreso to have fans who don't know anything about the art side of the process to judge who is best suited.

If you are a credible company, you should be able to sit down as a team and say "this guys work would represent us best" and "this rate for this work is within our budget" etc. If you can't do that, then it seems the credibility isn't there, in my opinion.

Just sharing my opinion, because artists already far too often get asked to work for free, get asked to profit-share instead of get paid, have to use bidding war sites to get jobs, etc.

100% i agree as well. I posted in the main forum here but i will be taking no more steps and will not subject myself and/or my art to a competition. I thought that it would be a vote for you and your company and it was easier to have us all posting in one spot. If its open to the public and we'll be having people who aren't in any way connected to the project critiquing our work i'll just pull myself out. Dont need to jump through hoops. If you are interested in me working on your project please email me. If not, good luck on your project.

OK, I understand your issue with posting your rates and so. In fact, it appears we're not thinking on the same premises. The base idea for us is, that we're not a company, and currently not pretending to be professionals ^-^ We're on a long way to become pros, but there are some values we don't want to lose along that way, and democracy is one of them. If we ever succeed to found a company, it'll be a Cooperative. We just don't want to become another profit-oriented company that'll spoil the project for making ever more money...

As I previously said, we're a collective of writers and illustrators and RPG scenarists, most amateurs and some near-pros, grouped around this project and who has created a non-profit association to develop it. So it's of utmost importance that we can discuss and vote over everything we do.

If I could choose the artist myself or with a small team, I would have asked by PM the information and would have compared them and chosen. But we work as a collective, and it's very important for us to do things this way.

When I said I understand your issue, that's why I proposed to restrict the poll to only a core team of formal association members instead of all the collective members. This would enable us to post your rates only on restricted forums, that only the association members (8 for now) can view, summon a meeting of the association and take the decision there. There we lose the ability to have other collective members who are not currently in the core team give their opinions, for instance the illustrator who did the chara-designs, or some other illustrators or writers who I know may have more insight than the core team members.

And I would also like to apologize if anyone has felt degraded or insulted by the way I presented that. As for me, it would not have posed me any issue to post my rates and estimates. I thought it might be touchy to ask for open applications, but I was unable to foresee it going to that length. So, sorry if I hurt anyone. We'll have to devise another way to make our decision, taking that new parameter into account.

I've created a specific private forum, so that only members of the Hoshikaze forums, already registered as contributors to the project, will be able to view the topic we'll use in deciding what we'll do next.

Is it OK for you ? Of course, you can reply by PM if you want to keep private your application. I'll only post the applicants who'll be OK with these conditions, so as not to force anyone into disclosing things they don't want. I'm sorry this makes the process heavier, but it's needed to ensure no-one gets hurt...

I'm very sorry to have to tell you, that the Hoshikaze2250 miniatures project is put on hold until February, 2014. We voted on it during our November 2013 meeting and there was a clear majority to delay it because of schedule and budget constraints.

We're currently concentrating on preparing for the Paris "Japan Expo / Comic'Con" Convention on July 2014, on which we'll have our own stand for the first time, apart from participating, just as we already do every year, on the Role-Playing-Game space.

We have assessed our priorities against this goal and the first one is to ensure our first novel is published on time. Then, we have the expensive JE/CC stand itself and a few quite costly preparation steps that must be taken. So we assessed all our budget items and concluded that the miniatures, although they would be a welcome add-on for the stand, were not of the highest priority. As we can see for now, our budget will not allow us to make everything and the cutoffs must include the miniatures.

We have decided, however, to put the miniatures on the February agenda. Meanwhile, we'll do the highest priority items and take actions to find extra funding. If by February we succeed to secure enough budget, then the Miniature project will be reactivated. If not, we'll have to wait until the novel's sales refunded our budget. That will hopefully happen during the summertime Conventions, and by September we hope to be able to reactivate the miniatures project. If the novel fails, then it'll be put on indefinite hold, as we'll have to reassess our entire project.

So, we have B and C plans for realizing it despite these months of delay ! One day it'll come true, we have good hopes it'll be in 2014 and we'll do everything to make it happen !